# Practicum: Adjusting the Timing and Clean Up

Now you are going to smooth out the sound by adjusting the timing between the clips (the pacing of the reading), cleaning up clicks and pops, and adding crossfades. You will also be shown two ways to use the *multitool*.

Here are some steps you can use to adjust and clean up your assembly:

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/QS6YuOzOUf4>" %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Crossfades, which are used to smoothly join clips, are introduced here because they are a sound editing best practice. You will notice, however, that Audacity automatically merges sound clips when you click on the split (black line) between them. If you choose to merge the clips by clicking on the split, make sure to listen closely to verify that there is not a pop or click where the split once was. If there is, undo the auto merge (Command Z on a Mac and Control Z on a PC) and use a crossfade.
{% endhint %}

![Split clips (left) Clips after being merged (right)](/files/-MVHzsdnqADvuBkx6Wwy)


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